'iTunes Producer 2.6' shows up in OS X Lion Software Update

Some users of OS X 10.7 Lion began receiving notifications on Tuesday that a mysterious new application named "iTunes Producer 2.6" is available for download.

The appearance of the software has come as a surprise for many who have never previously installed any "iTunes Producer" software. Its inclusion in Software Update is likely an error on Apple's part.

The application is Apple's proprietary encoding software that allows content owners to create and sell content on Apple's iTunes Store. It is a 69.8-megabyte download through Software Update.

Prior to Tuesday's error, iTunes Producer was only available to download for content providers and those who have access through the iTunes Connect portal.

Apple does offer the free iBooks Author tool to those who want to create iBooks titles and submit them to the iBookstore for free. But titles sold on the iBookstore do require a separate ISBN number, which can cost more than $100 to obtain for a single title.

The full release notes for the application follow:

Quote:

Now you can look up metadata using multiple Vendor IDs simultaneously
For delivery issues, Send to Apple now supports entering notes
For music, the following are now supported:
Alert tones
Customizable territory groupings for rights and pricing
Improved user interface for adding and editing translations
For books, the following are now supported:
Target Audience, Pre-Order Start Date, and Series Display Number using the "New from file" feature
Expanded language list

Some users of OS X 10.7 Lion began receiving notifications on Tuesday that a mysterious new application named "iTunes Producer 2.6" is available for download. ...

I was confused when this showed up this morning, but I'm almost certain it has to do with whether you have ever downloaded and used the iPhone configuration and provisioning utility. Before the configurator, this is what you would use to handle a bunch of random iPhones or force a certificate onto one of them.

I was confused when this showed up this morning, but I'm almost certain it has to do with whether you have ever downloaded and used the iPhone configuration and provisioning utility. Before the configurator, this is what you would use to handle a bunch of random iPhones or force a certificate onto one of them.

Nope. I've never used the configuration utility and it showed up for me. Downloading now

Judging by the release notes, I think it's for publishing non-App content to the iTunes store

Yup. Meant for people using iBooks Author to upload/submit finished files for sale.

And I can finally, once, say that Apple's legal needs to treat countries differently has actually benefitted Canada. ISBN numbers here, for Canadian-based publishers, are free, handed out by the CISS agency of our Federal government. The US is the odd man out here with private firms in control of the ISBN system for US publishers, many countries offer free ISBNs to publishers set up in them.

"I tried to get a tattoo once but passed out. It wasn't wetting my arm that bothered me, I just couldn't press firmly for 30 seconds."

I was confused when this showed up this morning, but I'm almost certain it has to do with whether you have ever downloaded and used the iPhone configuration and provisioning utility. Before the configurator, this is what you would use to handle a bunch of random iPhones or force a certificate onto one of them.

Not true. I've never had an iPhone or iPad or even an iPod Touch or Apple TV - only a Mac running Snow Leopard. This iTunes Producer Update showed up in my Snow Leopard software update. It confused the heck out of me.